First and Last Name/s of Presenters

Abigail MarshFollow

Mentor/s

Dr. Loris

Participation Type

Poster

Abstract

Nursing encompasses the promotion of health and prevention of illness, the care of the healthy, the physically ill, mentally ill, and disabled people of any age, in all health care and community settings. It is among one of the most sought-after professions, as well as a profession that will always be necessary. “Internationally, nurses are recognized as an integral part of healthcare with a number of reports highlighting the value of nursing and the importance of nurses being able to practice to their full potential” (Bragadóttir, H., Burmeister, E. A., et. al, 2020).

Historically, nurses have worked closely with doctors, acting as a sort-of assistant. As recently as fifty years ago, the role of the nurse was viewed as an extension of women’s natural caregiving role rather than a career. Since then, the profession has progressed in leaps and bounds. You now see nurses in hospitals, doctors’ offices, schools, military bases, patient’s homes, and even administering telehealth services, among many other places. Nurses today have much more autonomy and mobility than ever before, requiring higher levels of education and training to a higher level than seen in the past. It is now possible for nurses to further their education in select specialties with a Master of Education, or even go so far as to get their Doctor of Education. The progression of the nurse to a doctorate enables them to work completely autonomously, without needing a doctor to sign off any of the patient care they determine is necessary. In fact, nurse practitioners are becoming more common in doctors’ offices, and nurse practitioners are increasingly likely to be a patient’s primary care provider rather than a doctor.

With these advancements to nursing, it is common knowledge that nursing is a profession that poses many risks (Walsh, M. & Buchanan, M. J., 2011). Nursing requires longer shifts than most occupations, with ten- and twelve-hour shifts standard. This can be more physically taxing than most other jobs. One of the most well-known facts is that the occupation comes with exposure to infectious diseases, violence, and physical injuries (Walsh, M. & Buchanan, M. J., 2011). However, the psychological and emotional effects of nurses’ work are not as well known. One of the largest negative impacts on the profession over the past several decades has been psychological trauma. Psychological trauma has negative impacts on nurses, which in turn has a negative impact on their patients. This trauma affects nurses both emotionally and physically, which consequently affects their care of patients.

College and Major available

Nursing BSN

Location

Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons

Start Day/Time

4-26-2024 12:00 PM

End Day/Time

4-26-2024 2:00 PM

Students' Information

Abigail Marsh, Nursing with minors in Human Nutrition and Psychology, Honors student, 2025.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Marsh Final Capstone Presentation.pptx (1875 kB)
PowerPoint Presentation to be converted to poster

Share

COinS
 
Apr 26th, 12:00 PM Apr 26th, 2:00 PM

What are the effects of psychological trauma on nurses with psychological trauma, as well as their care to patients?

Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons

Nursing encompasses the promotion of health and prevention of illness, the care of the healthy, the physically ill, mentally ill, and disabled people of any age, in all health care and community settings. It is among one of the most sought-after professions, as well as a profession that will always be necessary. “Internationally, nurses are recognized as an integral part of healthcare with a number of reports highlighting the value of nursing and the importance of nurses being able to practice to their full potential” (Bragadóttir, H., Burmeister, E. A., et. al, 2020).

Historically, nurses have worked closely with doctors, acting as a sort-of assistant. As recently as fifty years ago, the role of the nurse was viewed as an extension of women’s natural caregiving role rather than a career. Since then, the profession has progressed in leaps and bounds. You now see nurses in hospitals, doctors’ offices, schools, military bases, patient’s homes, and even administering telehealth services, among many other places. Nurses today have much more autonomy and mobility than ever before, requiring higher levels of education and training to a higher level than seen in the past. It is now possible for nurses to further their education in select specialties with a Master of Education, or even go so far as to get their Doctor of Education. The progression of the nurse to a doctorate enables them to work completely autonomously, without needing a doctor to sign off any of the patient care they determine is necessary. In fact, nurse practitioners are becoming more common in doctors’ offices, and nurse practitioners are increasingly likely to be a patient’s primary care provider rather than a doctor.

With these advancements to nursing, it is common knowledge that nursing is a profession that poses many risks (Walsh, M. & Buchanan, M. J., 2011). Nursing requires longer shifts than most occupations, with ten- and twelve-hour shifts standard. This can be more physically taxing than most other jobs. One of the most well-known facts is that the occupation comes with exposure to infectious diseases, violence, and physical injuries (Walsh, M. & Buchanan, M. J., 2011). However, the psychological and emotional effects of nurses’ work are not as well known. One of the largest negative impacts on the profession over the past several decades has been psychological trauma. Psychological trauma has negative impacts on nurses, which in turn has a negative impact on their patients. This trauma affects nurses both emotionally and physically, which consequently affects their care of patients.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.